Driving physical connections through digital channels amongst ethnic audiences

Digital channels have advanced over recent years, and it is now easier than ever to drive physical connections through digital media. Ethnic audiences are, however, often left feeling unrepresented through digital marketing, so making connections with ethnic audiences can be a challenge. GottaBe! Ethnic will be discussing how to use your digital channels to drive physical connections with ethnic audiences. 

How can I use digital channels to build physical connections?

Campaigns have a better reach when both digital and traditional marketing are used, and with digital advancements, online campaigns can reach further than ever before. Whilst activations are highly memorable and influential, combining your experiential and digital marketing creates connections with those who could not attend, and therefore your campaign has a broader reach. 

In the not-too-distant future, developments such as AI, robots and virtual reality will be a part of the everyday customer experience. So, creating a physical connection through digital channels will become easier over time. 

Try on videos, hauls, and how-to tutorials all create an added level of reality to a product digitally and allow consumers to have the ‘feel’ that usually drives them into a physical store. With video content popularity rising, content creators have found ways to deliver in-depth insights, adding value to the product. 

Digital channels allow your brand to build deeper connections with consumers, enticing them into the store. Connecting with customers digitally will enable you to learn more about their behaviours and needs, which can later be used to create a tailored campaign or environment you know your consumers will interact with. Stores and experiential marketing campaigns provide a space for consumers to connect with your brand directly and puts a face to the name. Having a seamless customer journey across digital and physical platforms will ensure your brand builds long term relationships with customers. This brand loyalty will see consumers return again and again. 

Influencer marketing

Influencers drive physical connections as they authentically share their lives on social media. So, when your brand is looking to engage ethnic audiences digitally, finding an ethnic influencer will help your brand build connections. However, Ethnic influencers do not get the recognition they deserve but are extremely powerful within ethnic communities as consumers like to feel represented. Influencers build relationships with their followers, so your brand should make the most of the connections influencers have developed by introducing ethnic influencer marketing into your marketing strategy. 

Influencer marketing puts your product before an audience, but it is essential to target customers’ needs to resonate with them. Your brand must look at how you can adapt your marketing to be tailored to an ethnic audience. This shouldn’t just be a translation from mainstream media but a focused campaign that will see a higher ROI if authentically adopted.

When an influencer promotes a product, they are advertising the product and letting their followers know they approve of the brand. This drives a high product recall; when followers know they can trust a product and brand, they will try the product recommended to them. Influencers provide trustworthy product recommendations, and by using ethnic influencers, minorities relate to they are more likely to go out and buy a product. 74% of shoppers make buying decisions based on social media, according to Sprout Social. So when seeing a product in-store that an influencer has recommended, the consumer is almost guaranteed to buy it. Not only does the customer know they can trust the influencer’s opinion, but it will make them feel more connected to someone they admire. One of the main reasons consumers trust influencers is because they can relate to them personally.

Brand purpose

Showing the consumer who you are is one of the most effective ways to build relationships as brand purpose allows the consumer to feel a personal connection. And a consistent approach across platforms will see brand purpose heightened for audiences. 

A robust digital presence is required to create connections with consumers in today’s market. 78% of consumers are willing to buy from a company after having a positive experience on social media. Once a consumer receives positive customer service, a physical connection is developed, whether online or in-person, as the consumer feels connected with your brand. Therefore, they are more likely to return to your online or physical store. 

An eCommerce site can create the same physical connection a store on the high street can if your brand provides a digital space that serves the consumers’ needs. This can be delivered via social media, chat rooms or blogs, offering extended information that customers can connect with further. 

Social media platforms advertise your products and brand purpose. They allow your brand to showcase its personality, which gains consumers’ attention and enables them to build an informal connection with your brand that is integrated into their platforms. DM’s and comments via social media provide your customers with a space to contact you 24/7. Not all businesses have the resources to provide support out of office hours, but social media platforms allow for scheduling posts and automatic replies that keep the consumer engaged until your staff are available. 

Personalised marketing 

Email marketing, app notifications, product recommendations and social media can be personalised with consumer names and preferences. Personalised communications evoke emotions and create a bond between consumer and brand. Using consumer data to target them personally will help develop physical connections with consumers. 

Brands that dedicate resources to personalised marketing campaigns will benefit from higher brand loyalty and customer satisfaction, with 20% of retail, e-commerce, and consumer goods and services companies now personalising emails based on gender, race, ethnicity (Litmus, 2020). Brands are starting to understand that to reach ethnic audiences; they must reach out in a culturally appropriate way. Using marketing materials to reach all audiences originally targeted to mainstream media will not entice ethnic minorities. This is felt within ethnic communities as 69% feel UK media has little to no relevance to them. Consumers are more likely to spend their money with a brand they feel represents them; connecting with ethnic minorities digitally, your brand can then entice new customers into your store. 

As a multicultural marketing agency, we understand ethnic audiences. GottaBe! Ethnic know how to reach ethnic minorities, and with our digital marketing experts on hand, we can drive physical connections through your brands’ digital channels. Contact the team today for a chat or check out our whitepaper on Understanding Ethnic Media to gain an insight into the opportunities available with Ethnic Media.